North Texas Resident Indicted for Pandemic Relief Fraud

A North Texas woman has been indicted by a federal grand jury for allegedly defrauding pandemic relief programs of more than $680,000. April Watson, 50, also known as 'April Watson Horton' and 'April Shawnette Watson,' faces a 10-count indictment that includes charges of wire fraud, bank fraud, and engaging in monetary transactions in property derived from specified unlawful activity, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Watson is accused of orchestrating a scheme to fraudulently secure Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans and Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) between April 2020 and October 2021. The indictment alleges that Watson submitted fraudulent applications on behalf of several entities she owned and operated, including Exotic Bliss Beauty LLC, Brain Evolution LLC, and Southern Home Ventures, LLC.

To support these applications, Watson allegedly fabricated and submitted false payroll summaries and fictitious IRS documents, such as W-2 and W-3 forms. The indictment claims that no payroll forms had been generated by the company, and no business tax returns related to wages or gross revenues for the businesses had been filed with the IRS for 2019 or 2020.

The fraudulent submissions reportedly allowed Watson to secure $210,698 in PPP loans from Kabbage, Inc. , $299,800 in EIDL funds from the U. S.

Small Business Administration, and $169,994 in additional PPP funding from JPMorgan Chase. The indictment further alleges that Watson used the fraud proceeds for illegal monetary transactions, including transferring over $114,000 toward the construction of a personal residence in Cedar Hill and wiring $40,000 to an individual associate.

Watson made her initial court appearance on October 23. If convicted, she faces up to 20 years in federal prison for each count of wire fraud, up to 30 years for each count of bank fraud, and up to 10 years for each count of unlawful monetary transactions. The government is also seeking the forfeiture of a residence located at 324 Terrace Lane in Cedar Hill, along with a monetary judgment for the full value of the illicit proceeds.

The investigation was conducted by IRS Criminal Investigation and Homeland Security Investigations as part of the Dallas El Dorado Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorney Elise Aldendifer from the Fraud Section is prosecuting the case.

The U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas, Ryan Raybould, emphasized the seriousness of the alleged crimes, stating that emergency relief programs were meant to support struggling businesses during the pandemic, not to fund personal projects. "Falsifying tax records and treating emergency small business relief like a personal lottery ticket is a serious federal crime," Raybould said.

IRS-CI Texas Field Office Special Agent in Charge Christopher J. Altemus Jr. also commented on the case, highlighting the impact of COVID loan fraud on honest businesses. "When you commit financial crimes, you will lose your money and your freedom," Altemus stated.

An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.